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Diablo, Lord of Terror
"Take one last look at your shining Heaven Imperius. For soon, nothing of it shall remain but my laughter." Al'Diabalos, the Lord of Terror, known more commonly as Diablo is the youngest of the three Prime Evils as well as the main antagonist of the Diablo game series, being its namesake. Amongst all demons known to humankind, he is considered the most powerful due to his ability to instill fear into the hearts of people with his name alone. In Beyond Light and Darkness, Diablo is one of the Minor yet Major Antagonists of the Series due to his influence over the land of Shakala. He is also one of the Death Generals of Shadowblood just like Thanos and Anti-Monitor. He is also Hinted to be the Leader of the Prime Evils and made Azmodan, Lord of Sin and Belial, Lord of Lies Prime Evils just like him and his two Brothers, Mephisto, Lord of Hatred and Baal, Lord of Destruction. Appearance In Diablo I, he appears as a giant humanoid demon with red skin, claws on both hands and feet and a multitude of spikes protruding from his back and head. In Diablo II his appearance changed a bit. When the player encounters him in Hell he has grown a tail (coupled with more spikes) and his features are more animalistic. His movement has also become more beast-like: in the first Diablo he only walks upright, whereas in Diablo II he can also charge on all fours. His appearance in Diablo III is much different. He's much skinnier than his earlier forms, more skeletal than his earlier, beefier manifestations. He features four arms, of which the top two have some kind of blade-like extensions. The shoulders are big and they have a mouth on each of them, which has become a recognizable feature among the fans. His tail and his legs are very similar to those of the Diablo II version, with spikes covering them. The end result is, due to being all the Evils in one body, he's taken on some aspects of Tathamet. As the Sin War and Kingdom of Shadow stories show, Diablo was (and likely still is) capable of shapeshifting, taking on forms that appeal to the fears of his opponents. The Wrath animation depicts him in Pandemonium initially as a shapeless entity before coalescing into his familiar Diablo II form. This would seem to suggest that this form is one Diablo favours and thus the one he assumes in his first two appearances. It seems having a host limits his shapeshifting abilities in some way, as their physiques play a part in shaping his form on the mortal plane. When using the young Albrecht his form is close to his favoured one, though lacking a tail, perhaps as a result of his host's smaller size. When using the older and stronger Aidan he was able to assume his favoured form exactly, being a bit larger and more muscular, as well as having his tail present. His use of Leah, in conjunction with the absorption of the Black Soulstone, lead to a slim and rather feminine physique, with broad hips and thin waist and even some hints of a bust. The absorption of all the Great Evils also leads to his form taking aspects of Tathamet, the original Prime Evil. Personality Background Diablo, his brothers and their immediate underlings are said by some to have been born from the heads of the dragon Tathamet. Diablo's evil, actions and methodology are best understood in the context of creating and fostering terror and fear, for its own sake and not specifically for conquest or power. The Realm of Terror within the Burning Hells is sparsely populated, for even demonkind cannot stand against its unrelenting torment. Deckard Cain states that while Mephisto is the most intelligent of the Three, Diablo is the most creative, to the extent that he names Diablo an "artist of terror." The Dark Exile Diablo and his brothers were banished to Sanctuary by the Lesser Evils, who rose up and cast them out in frustration for seemingly abandoning the Eternal Conflict (although Izual states that the Three in fact engineered the Exile to further their own plans). The Horadrim were formed with the assistance of Tyrael to combat the threat and seal the Prime Evils within the Soulstones. Diablo was the last of the three to be caught, by a group of Horadrim led by Jered Cain, in what would eventually become the kingdom of Khanduras. The Horadrim sealed the Soulstone deep within a cave system, then built a monastery to stand guard over the location, though their order would eventually fall to ruin. Freedom Diablo spent two centuries slowly corrupting the Soulstone that imprisoned him. In time, he was able to extend his influence into the surrounding area and possess both King Leoric and his archbishop, Lazarus. The King proved too strong to fully possess, so the Demon took his son, Prince Albrecht. Diablo then began to shape an outpost of Hell within the catacombs that ran beneath the town of Tristram. By spreading terror into the surrounding countryside, the Demon was able to attract many heroes who came to cleanse the land of evil. By the time the strongest of these heroes, Aidan, reached this goal, though, he had become fully influenced by the power of Diablo. In his twisted state, Aidan believed that the only way to fully control the Demon was to plunge Diablo's Soulstone into his own head. This, of course, was exactly what Diablo had planned, as the Demon now had an even stronger body to use to find his brothers and complete his ultimate plan... Diablo eventually possessed Aidan and went to free his two brothers, Mephisto and Baal. Diablo (as Aidan) met Adria the Witch, who knew immediately that Aidan was possessed by Diablo, and swore eternal servitude to Him. Eventually, a second party of adventurers confronted Diablo and killed him. This time however, his Soulstone was destroyed in the Hellforge, apparently putting an end to his evil permanently. Apparently the destruction of his Soulstone was not enough to put an end to his evil. Upon the completion of the Black Soulstone by Zoltun Kulle, the souls of all the slain Evils are drawn to the Stone including Diablo (the location of souls after the slaying of the Evils is still unknown). Adria betrayed humanity by helping Diablo possess Leah, the vessel Adria bore 20 years before, the result of conception of Adria and Diablo. Now that all evils are in one body, Diablo is reincarnated as the Prime Evil and has begun his assault in the High Heavens. While his brothers Baal and Mephisto prefer to play power-mongering games from the shadows through scores of minions, Diablo seems content to be the pure destructive power behind their machinations. This is not to say that Diablo lacks the intelligence of his brothers (as he rarely speaks), but being the youngest, he somewhat defers to their direction and suggestions in the course of their scheming. Beyond Light and Darkness History The Beginning Arc Rise of Vaati Arc Pandora Arc Powers & Abilities As the Lord of Terror, Diablo's greatest power lies within utilizing his enemies' fears, and due to his aspect he's also incapable of feeling fear himself. He rules over his demon servants through his sheer ability of terror, and to many he is the most terrifying being of all. Diablo is capable of taking on almost any shape, whatever suits him best at the time. It is unclear whether the forms of him we see in the games are his true appearance, or if he lacks a true appearance altogether, though he seems to favour his most known one. In terms of physical strength, Diablo is the strongest of the Three and as such the strongest known demon, although he prefers to avoid direct contact if it is possible and rather likes to work from behind the scenes. However he controls the powers of fire with ease, and can cast a powerful wave of red lightning that destroys almost everything in it's path. Not to mention literally rain hell down on his enemies if the situation calls for it. In Diablo 3, Diablo has the Black Soulstone within him which transformed him into the Prime Evil with the power of all the Seven Evils of Hell or to be more precise he became Tathamet reborn. With this power Diablo was able to defeat the Archangel of Valor, Imperius, in combat with relative ease and shattered the Diamond Gate with a roar. He subsequently corrupted the Crystal Arch, rendering all the angels of Heaven without power. 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